Grammar Guerrilla: Punctuation Is Not Mean Spirited. Full Stop.

Guerilla-Gorilla

According to a number of media stories (the original story appeared in the UK Telegraph) Generation Z, those born 1995–2015, find certain punctuation marks threatening. The argument is that the use of the period (“full stop” in the UK) in text messages (and . . . Continue reading →

Grammar Guerrilla: Pronoun Primer

Guerilla-Gorilla

In yet another indicator that the West is collapsing, Webster’s Dictionary has apparently named they, used to designate a particular, non-gendered person, the word of 2019. This seems to call for a quick refresher on basic grammar: There are two kinds of . . . Continue reading →

Grammar Guerilla: Conversations, Discussions, And Arguments

Guerilla-Gorilla

For the better part of the last decade I have been hearing and reading the expression, “I do not like that conversation” or “I do not like that discussion.” If, in this context, the nouns discussion and conversation mean “the exchange of . . . Continue reading →

Grammar Guerilla: Kirk Douglas On “Feel Bad” v “Feel Badly” And More Feelings

Guerilla-Gorilla

Thanks to H. H. Fowler’s reincarnation on Twitter for this very clear explanation of the distinction between an adverb and an adjective: Kirk Douglas is right. Badly is an adverb. To “feel badly” means that one’s sense perception is damaged. To “feel . . . Continue reading →

Grammar Guerilla: Begging Versus Raising The Question

Guerilla-Gorilla

Almost without fail today, whether on a media news program, in print, or in causal discussion, when one hears or reads the phrase “begs the question” (or some variant) it is used to mean, raises the question. On its face this might seem an odd thing since raises is hardly an obscure or antiquated verb. Continue reading →

Grammar Guerrilla: Me, Him, Idiocracy, And The Matrix

To anticipate an objection: yes, language evolves but language also has a fixed core. There is a connection between language and the nature of things. There is a distinction in nature between the subject and the object. The languages with which I . . . Continue reading →

Grammar Guerrilla: Proud, Prideful; Converse, Conversate

Guerilla-Gorilla

HB reader Barbara asks, “Is conversate a word? I am a nurse and see other nurses using it in their progress notes. Example: ‘The resident was seen conversating with her room mate.’ Thanks Barbara. That is a good question. In English, verbs, . . . Continue reading →